Written Answers

Thursday 3 August 2000

Scottish Executive

British-Irish Council

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-1926 by Mr Jack McConnell on 15 June 2000, whether the date for the next meeting of the British-Irish Council has now been set and when the decision on its location will be made.

Mr Jim Wallace: As announced by the British and Irish Governments on 28 July, the Irish Government will host the next Summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Dublin on Tuesday 31 October 2000.

Fisheries

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what surveillance testing, based on serological, virological, microbiological or pathological findings, was conducted by it or other bodies and over what period, in terms of Article 13 of EC Directive 91/67/EEC, which enabled the United Kingdom to maintain that Scotland was free from Infectious Salmon Anaemia.

Mr John Home Robertson: Article 13 of Directive 91/67/EEC does not apply to Infectious Salmon Anaemia. However, in order to meet UK and EC legislative requirements, annual fish disease inspection and sampling programmes for all fish farms in Scotland have been carried out since 1993. Use of internationally approved detection and diagnostic methods for Infectious Salmon Anaemia provided no evidence of the disease until 1998.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is available to fishery boards and other relevant bodies to improve river habitats with a view to encouraging an increase in wild fish stocks and whether it will detail any such awards and their recipients over the last three years for which figures are available.

Mr John Home Robertson: Scottish Natural Heritage provides funding to fisheries boards, trusts and other fishery and angling bodies for a range of habitat improvement projects. Details of award during the last three financial years are provided below. Awards to other bodies are also made which benefit fish habitat.

  


Organisation 


Reason for Grant 


Offered in Year 


Year of Offer 




West Galloway Fisheries Trust 


Riverside Habitats 


£6,550.00 


1997-98 




River Annan District Salmon Fishery Board 


Fish Environment and Habitat Improvement Works 


£28,960.00 


1998-99 




West Galloway Fisheries Trust 


Riverside Habitat Improvement 


£22,500.00 


1998-99 




Garry Fishings 


River Garry Clearance Phase 2 


£3,305.00 


1998-99 




Wester Ross Fisheries Trust 


Habitat Survey and River Management 


£3,000.00 


1999-2000 




Wester Ross Fisheries Trust 


Habitat Survey and River Management 


£3,000.00 


1999-2000 




Awe Fisheries Trust 


Habitat Survey in Rivers Orchy, Kinglass, Etive 


£4,500.00 


1999-2000 




Garry Fishings 


River Garry Clearance Phase 3 


£5,700.00 


1999-2000 




River Annan District Salmon Fishery Board 


Habitat Enhancement Scheme 


£37,971.25 


2000-01 




Nairn District Fishery Board 


Habitat Survey - River Nairn 


£1,000.00 


2000-01 




West Galloway Fisheries Trust 


Bankside Habitat Enhancement Piltanton Burn 


£2,000.00 


2000-01 




West Sutherland Fisheries Trust 


Habitat Surveys in West Sutherland 


£2,500.00 


2000-01 



 
 
 

TOTAL:
£120,986.25

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many commercial salmon netsmen operate in Scotland; where they are based; how many salmon it is estimated they catch each year, and how they are regulated.

Mr John Home Robertson: Net and coble fisheries were operated in 1998 (the last year for which data is available) in the following salmon fishery districts:

  Tweed, Forth, Tay, Esk, Don, Ythan, Ugie, Lossie, Ness, Conon, Kyle of Sutherland, Caithness, Loch Roag, Loch Long, Crowe and Shiel, Baa (Mull), Creran, Nell, Laggan (Islay), Iorsa (Arran), Cree, Nith.

  The number of employees in any given month varied between a minimum of four and a maximum of 168.

  Fixed engine fisheries were operated in 1998 (the last year for which data area available) in the following salmon fishery districts:

  Tweed, Esk, Dee (Aberdeenshire), Don, Ythan, Conon, Kyle of Sutherland, Caithness, Halladale, Strathy, North and West, Torridon, Lochaber, Baa (Mull), Awe, Add, Loch Fyne, Luce, Bladnoch, Cree, Fleet (Kirkcudbright), Dee (Kirkcudbright), Urr, Nith, Annan.

  The number of employees in any given month varied between a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 266.

  Salmon netting is regulated under the Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1868, the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Protection) (Scotland) Act 1951, the Salmon Act 1968 and through further subordinate legislation relating to annual close times, definition of methods and construction of nets.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish Statutory Instruments relating to fisheries laid before the Scottish Parliament have not also been laid at Westminster.

Mr John Home Robertson: No Scottish Statutory Instruments are laid before Westminster. However, there have been a number of Scottish Statutory Instruments relating to fisheries for which no equivalent legislation has yet been laid in Westminster. These are:

  The Shellfish (Specification of Molluscs and Crustaceans) (Scotland) Order 1999

  The Shetland Islands Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 1999

  The River Forth Salmon Fishery District (Baits and Lures) Regulations 1999

  The River Don Salmon Fishery District (Baits and Lures) Regulations 1999

  The Loch Moidart, North Channel, Scallop Several Fishery (Scotland) Order 2000

  The Sea Fishing (Specified Sea Areas) (Regulation of Nets and Other Fishing Gear) (Scotland) Order 2000

  The Prohibition of Fishing with Multiple Trawls (Scotland) Order 2000

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which international bodies are concerned with the protection of wild fish stocks; on how many of these it is entitled to be represented; how often each such body has met in the last five years; when each is next due to meet, and who attended each meeting on its behalf.

Mr John Home Robertson: There are a number of bodies concerned with the protection of wild fish stocks: that with specific responsibility for wild salmon is the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO). One of the contracting parties to NASCO is the European Union whose delegate from the European Commission is supported by member states. The Scottish Executive is normally represented by the head of the relevant Division in the Rural Affairs Department and by the Inspector of Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries.

  NASCO meets normally once a year. Its next annual general meeting is due to be held in June 2001.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the impact of seal populations on the stocks of freshwater fish such as the Atlantic salmon.

Mr John Home Robertson: I have requested specific advice on this issue from the Natural Environment Research Council as part of their advice on management of seal populations for this current year.

  Meanwhile, a range of individual research projects are currently underway to investigate different aspects of the interactions between seals and fish. These include investigations into seals and salmon on the River Conon and into the feeding habits and movements of seals in Lochs Shieldaig and Torridon in relation to the movements of salmonid fishes. Possible collaborative research between the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St. Andrews and SERAD Fisheries Research Services is under consideration.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been lodged in the last five years for licences to shoot seals in Scotland’s rivers during close seasons under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and how many of these were granted.

Mr John Home Robertson: Under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, a total of 31 applications for licences to shoot seals during close seasons were lodged with the Scottish Executive in the last five years (1995-99 inclusive). 24 of these applications were granted.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated economic value of the freshwater fisheries sector, including angling, has been in each of the last five years and whether there are any plans to measure its current or projected economic contribution.

Mr John Home Robertson: Updating earlier studies, the Scottish Salmon Strategy Task Force estimated that the net economic value of salmon board fisheries in Scotland in 1995 was £350 million, with a range from £270 million to £430 million. Total expenditure by anglers was estimated at an additional £70 million.

  A study commissioned by the Tweed Foundation in 1996 revealed that the Tweed Salmon Fisheries brought £12.5 million a year to the Borders economy. A recent study by the Western Isles Fisheries Trust, in conjunction with Western Isles Enterprise and Western Isles Council, estimates that in 1999 angling contributed £5.6 million to the local economy.

  The Scottish Executive is currently seeking to encourage boards to include greater economic data in their annual reports.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the recommendations made in the Scottish Salmon Strategy Task Force’s 1997 report have been implemented and whether there are any plans to implement any further recommendations in the future.

Mr John Home Robertson: I shall be arranging for a note to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre setting down the current position on the recommendations in the report.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to increase the number of salmon fisheries boards.

Mr John Home Robertson: The District Salmon Fishery Board Order 1999, which came into force on 3 May 1999, amended Schedule 2 of the Salmon Act 1986 governing the composition of District Salmon Fishery Boards. The aim of the 1999 Order was to give boards greater flexibility in determining optimum size and structure. Three Designation Orders (Lochaber, Conon and North and West) have since been made and a fourth application (Western Isles) is currently under consideration.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it takes to facilitate discussions between fisheries boards and trusts about common practices and concerns.

Mr John Home Robertson: Discussions between Salmon Fishery Boards and local Fishery Trusts, on which boards are represented, is a matter for the bodies concerned. However, the Scottish Executive is an active partner in the Scottish Fisheries Co-ordination Centre which brings together Trusts and boards across much of Scotland with the aim of providing a better understanding of the national fishery resources and of encouraging collaboration and co-ordination between them and other organisations with an interest in fishery matters. In addition the Scottish Executive, through the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory, works closely with Trust and board biologists.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to Her Majesty’s Government or to the Crown Estate regarding the production tax imposed by the Crown Estate on Scottish aquaculture businesses.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Scottish Executive is constantly in touch with the UK Government on a range of matters. Lease rentals have also featured in discussions which the Scottish Executive has held with the Crown Estate Commissioners.

Fisheries

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set any performance targets for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency for 2000-01.

Mr John Home Robertson: For the financial year 2000-01 I have set the following targets:

  


Aerial surveillance 




Per cent of hours flown on task 


87% 




Cost per flying hour on task 


£1,045 




  


Maine surveillance 




Utilisation of available patrol days 


96% 




Cost per effective patrol day 


£3,550 




  


Sea Fisheries Inspectorate 




Cost per catch inspection 


£79 




Landing declarations checked against actual catches 


49% 




  


Cases for Prosecution 




Cases for prosecution to be reported within 6 weeks 


85% 




Within 8 weeks, of offences being detected 


96% 




Number of cases where court proceedings are taken or the imposition 
of a PF fine, as a percentage of offences reported to prosecuting 
authorities 


85% 




  


Efficiency 




Cash-releasing efficiency gain 


1.5% 




  The Chief Executive will be directly accountable to me for the achievement of these targets, which will be reported in the Agency’s Annual Report.

Genetically Modified Crops

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out to determine the safety to honeybees and other pollinating insects of pollen from GM trial crops, who carried out any such research and whether it will make any such research available for peer review by the Scottish Beekeepers Association.

Ross Finnie: The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment takes account of existing research into this aspect of a proposal to release a genetically modified organism. This is one element of the process which it completes when undertaking its environmental impact assessment of a proposed release. I understand that the Scottish Beekeepers Association has been in contact with ACRE about the factors which it took into consideration in reaching a conclusion that pollen from these particular crops does not pose a threat to pollinating insects.

Genetically Modified Crops

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether beekeepers can legally sell honey and pure pollen products where some of the pollen may have come from a GM trial crop.

Ross Finnie: Our legal advice is that any trace amounts of material derived from the trial crop which might be found in honey and honey products do not require a marketing consent. Under the terms of the relevant Directive, some dispersal of GM material beyond the trial site is envisaged. The safety of that dispersed material is one of the factors given careful consideration by our independent expert advisers before a consent to grow is approved.

Genetically Modified Crops

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any contact or correspondence with representatives of beekeepers about the implications of any possible GM contamination of pollen, honey-dew or honey and, if so, whether it will make the details of such contact available.

Ross Finnie: We have received a number of representations from the President of the Scottish Beekeepers Association about these issues. In our responses we have been able to give reassurance to beekeepers about the safety and the legality of any honey or honey products found to contain material from a GM trial site.

Health

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies currently exist for non-executive board members on (a) health boards, (b) NHS hospital trusts, (c) NHS primary care trusts and (d) the Scottish Ambulance Service Board.

Susan Deacon: The number of vacancies is as follows:

  (a) 16

  (b) 13

  (c) 5

  (d) 2

Influenza

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8351 by Susan Deacon on 13 July 2000, when it last received advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation with regard to the flu vaccination program for the over 65 age group this winter, and whether that body endorsed the 60% target.

Susan Deacon: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that the influenza vaccination programme be extended to those aged 65 years and over in March this year. The JCVI was not invited to suggest or endorse an uptake target for the programme.

Influenza

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive during what period in this year the flu vaccine will be available to the over 65 age group.

Susan Deacon: It is expected that, as is normal procedure, influenza immunisation will be concentrated in the period between 1 September 2000 to 31 January 2001.

Influenza

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8354 by Susan Deacon on 13 July 2000, how the target of 60% for immunisation of the over 65 age group this year against influenza compares with targets in comparable nations such as Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Ireland and Switzerland.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

Sport

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in 1999-2000, and how much will be spent in 2000-01, on academic research into sport and sport-related issues in Scotland by Scottish universities.

Henry McLeish: This information is not held centrally.

  The Research Councils and their operations are reserved.

Tourism

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in 1999-2000, and how much will be spent in 2000-01, on academic research into tourism and tourism-related issues in Scotland by Scottish universities.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: This information is not held centrally.

  The Research Councils and their operations are reserved.

Tourism

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in 1999-2000, and how much will be spent in 2000-01, on promoting golf tourism by the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Tourist Board and area tourist boards.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The Scottish Executive does not itself spend money on the promotion of golf tourism. Spend by the Scottish Tourist Board (STB) and the Area Tourist Boards is as follows:

  


 


1999-2000 (£) 


2000-01
(£ estimate) 




STB 


100,000 


500,000 




Aberdeen & Grampian 


12,520 


7,000 




Angus & Dundee 


76,840 


10,000 




Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Trossachs 


5,000 


7,000 




Ayrshire & Arran 


17,071 


Not Available 




Dumfries & Galloway 


10,454 


10,500 




Edinburgh & Lothians 


15,300 


18,000 




Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley 


- 


2,000 




Highlands of Scotland 


3,800 


1,500 




Kingdom of Fife 


14,000 


40,000 




Orkney 


- 


- 




Perthshire 


11,000 


19,500 




Scottish Borders 


25,000 


25,000 




Shetland 


200 


- 




Western Isles 


1,000 


5,000